ready to go

As aforementioned in the last entry, today was my errands/chores day. Clean the room. Check. Clean the bathroom. Check. Clean the kitchen. Check. Do my laundry. Check. Research some sights for Italy. Check. Start packing for Paris/Italy. Check. Take out the trash. Check. Get out of the apartment and take advantage of the gorgeous weather. Uh....woops. I let time slip away from me today. I was planning on going out for a few hours to walk around the city since the weather was so nice, but I stayed cooped up inside the apartment trying to get all my little things done. At least I was somewhat productive today. I still have a whole morning tomorrow before my train departs for Paris, so maybe I'll try to go out again. I have a little package waiting to be sent home to my family, but...I have a confession. I hate going to the post office alone. It intimidates me. Boulangeries and grocery stores, I can do. But post offices...I don't know. Something about them intimidates me. Maybe it's because I'm still unfamiliar with the vocabulary. Or maybe it's because every time I go, I end up with the same old man who never smiles. Either way, I need to get myself going before the package comes home with me in my suitcase two months from now. I bought my mom some silk from the silk shop Roxanne (our French culture professor) told us about. It's on Rue Auguste Comte and it's called Tousoie. I was talking to the lady who rang me up and she told me that their manufacturer makes fabrics for their store, but the other half of the fabric goes towards haute couture. Silk is one of the main commodities that Lyon has to offer and it is actually known as the "silk capital of the world." It plays a significant role in the textile industry, especially for fashion. I have yet to spot a public fashion show, but I'm hoping to stumble upon at least one while I'm here.

I love Picard. It's a grocery store that only sells frozen foods. But...it sells everything imaginable - fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, desserts, cakes, pizzas, international foods, dough, etc. And the quality is stellar. I feel like I eat a gourmet meal every time I "cook" something. This afternoon, I made salmon on the stovetop and sauteed some green beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic. I also had these sauce cubes where I just pop it into a little pot and when it melts, it's ready to be served on top of the fish. And the best part about it is the price. It's highly affordable. I am keeping an idea in the back of my head to start one of these type of businesses in the states, especially in an area like Boston where frozen foods are tempting and attractive for college students.

Well, I need to go finish packing. BUT OH! Did you notice? I started adding pictures to all of my old entries. I had to get used to the new html, but my blog is slowly piecing itself together. Now you have a visual with the context. :)

Tune in next week for my travel updates from Paris + Italy.
Bisous!

solo spontaneity

I've been alone for the past two days and it hasn't been too shabby. It's lonely, of course, but I've been occupying myself with my drug: EXPLORING! I love walking around with no destination. It makes every moment a surprise, and who doesn't like surprises? I started off yesterday by going up to the Croix-Rousse neighborhood (okay, so maybe I had general ideas of where I wanted to go...) and it took me a good hour to find out where all the shops and people were. It was a bit sketch at first because there was no one around, except a few men who looked like they were painters straight out of their studios. I kept climbing hills and stairs because it was a very hilly neighborhood and when I reached the top, there was a huge carnival! So many lights and colors and children and eating goodies. I stopped by a stand where a lady was selling freshly roasted chestnuts. They were so delicious - they unwrapped right off the skin and it kept warm for awhile. I walked around the little "rues" and noticed a lot of cute boutiques and fancy pastry shops. I made a mental note to myself saying that it was the perfect destination for souvenir shopping. After some window shopping, I went down the hill a little bit and noticed a view with no trees/buildings in the way. I walked over and saw the most amazing view of the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière. B-E-A-UTIFUL. I soaked in the view for as long as I could and then forced myself to walk down the many, many stairs. Somewhere around the midpoint, I discovered a thrift shop. I almost kept walking but there was a little voice inside my head who urged me to go inside. And thank goodness I did. I found two beautiful silk scarves (100% made in France!) and a white purse for only 2.50 Euros. What a steal. =) Very content with myself, I kept walking down and stopped many times to take some pictures (this is a plus when traveling alone - I can stop whenever I want and however many times I want to get the perfect shot). When I got down, I came across the Place des Terreaux. It was one of those "OHHHH!!!!" moments where a city connects together. I had so many of these moments in Boston by walking around everywhere and realizing the city is actually really small. In the same way and excitement, I made another mental note of how the Croix-Rousse is right next to a central point of Lyon. I walked around some more around the river, Vieux Lyon, and Bellecour. I probably walked a good 10 miles yesterday. Thank goodness I had my Jack Purcells on. By the end of the day, I was exhausted but really happy with the new discoveries I found.

Today, I started off my day with going to the park. I never had a chance to see the animals because I was either too late or it was too cold for them to be out. But they were all out today. Elephants, bears, and cheetahs, oh my! Walking around the park took up most of my day (it's a HUGE park with so much to see) but it was really relaxing and I did a lot of reflecting. It was a great chance for me to retreat from everything and to just gather myself up again. And I loved seeing how many people were out in the park. One of the observations I made was how families love to spend quality time TOGETHER rather than doing un-interactive things... like the movies, the mall, or even eating (aka tv dinners). On Sundays, Lyon becomes a ghost town since it is at a great central location for weekend getaways, but also because it is their day to spend time with their loved ones. And...I can see that people actually take advantage of their time. They go out to the park and relax in the natural setting. It's so great to see. I wish American families would take equal advantage of their holidays and free days. But this just shows one of our many cultural differences. What works in one place wouldn't work in another because that's just how things are...

After the park, I didn't feel like going home just yet, so I went to a local movie theater and bought a ticket for Un Secret. I bought it at the perfect time, but the man told me there was an hour difference (woops, I forgot to set my clock back yesterday night) so I went home for a little bit and then went back. I think it was my first time watching a movie alone, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. The movie was pretty good - it was all in French (some German) so it took me awhile to digest the content, but the gestures and movements helped a lot. I would love to watch it again with subtitles to see if I actually left the theater with the right sentiments. My listening is definitely improving, but my speaking, not so much. Even the French friends we have want to speak English with us to improve it, and in the classrooms, professors encourage English conversations only. So basically, the only times I use my French is at the boulangerie, the SNCF office (for train tickets), the post office, other service stores, and my French class. Hmmmm...two more months. I would really like to be somewhat fluent by the time I leave. I feel like 4 months is not enough time. I would love to stay for another semester. But I am only halfway in, so my emotions may change in a few weeks when the holidays begin to come up around the corner.

Tomorrow is my chores + errands day. yipee :/

5:28 am & still awake

studying for midterms? no, those are over.
getting up for an early flight? no, not until tuesday.
loud partying in the apartment? no, everyone is gone and it's eerily quiet now.

For some reason, I can't fall asleep tonight. Maybe it's the fact that my sleeping pattern has taken a drastic turn this week (two all-nighters) and naps squeezed in the midst of everything that was going on.

Pretty much all of the Americans left for their vacation destinations this morning. :( It's quiet now. TOO quiet. I have the next few days to finish some personal business at home and for my next co-op in South Africa. I also plan on exploring Lyon a bit more outside of my usual places. I did a little research and found the little Soho of Lyon so that will be my destination tomorrow. Today, rather...

The upcoming week is my break off from class. I will be going up to Paris on Tuesday to meet Yuna. And then we will go to Italy on Thursday for five days. We have everything booked so it's becoming a little more real. ITALY! I'm really excited. I can't wait to try authentic Italian food and to see all of the sights. This break fell in at a perfect point of my experience. Midterms were a little draining and the weather is getting chillier, so an escape to a warm and culturally inviting environment is much needed.

My wine consumption has increased significantly this past week. On Sunday, we took a trip to Beaujolais with some of the CEFAM staff and with Daniellle, our Northeastern study abroad advisor. We started off with a tour at the Georges Duboeuf vineyard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Duboeuf). He is one of the largest wine merchants from the Beaujolais region and is actually dubbed le roi du Beaujolais (the king of Beaujolais). His wines can be found in the United States and they are apparently very popular and affordable. We watched a 3-D show and a cute little play about the origins/methods of wine-making. We also fell upon a room with barrels upon barrels of wine - it seemed endless. For a few hours, I felt like I was back in the states because our tour guide was English-speaking and the shows were also in English. But when lunch time hit, I remembered where I was because we did not rush at all and we took our sweet time conversing instead. We even missed a train ride out to the vineyard because we went over our planned lunch time by an hour, more or less. The wines I tried at Georges Duboeuf were mainly reds and were excellent. Although, I found a new level of admiration for white wines after trying the Macon-Villages 2006. It was lighter and more flavorful than the ones I've tried previously. It was my favorite from the Duboeuf vineyard. The next two places we went to were independent and privately-owned vineyards. The first one was interesting because we tried two of the same wines, but a year apart (Corclette - red wine). There was a distinguishable difference between what the 2005 and what the 2004 tasted like. I preferred the younger wine. The 2004 wine was a bit heavier and stronger. But it's just a matter of personal preference. The next and last place we went to was called a "caveau" and it was placed in the most charming little village. We stayed indoors for a few hours to try more wine and to eat some more (they love feeding us sausages, cheese, and bread with wine). I made a few purchases here - two reds and one white (Régnié 2006 and Viré Clessé 2006). I'm glad I waited for the last vineyard because those ended up being my favorites of the day. After everyone made their purchases and took a few more sips of their wine, a few of us snuck out to take a peek outside. The weather that day was absolutely gorgeous. The skies were really blue and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. We bumped into two groups who went out before us and they told us to check out two different spots. We were torn so we ended up running to both places. The view was beautiful. I don't think words or pictures can do it justice. The autumn colors were vivid, the ambiance was priceless, and it wrapped up the trip perfectly.

When I'm older, I plan on owning a little vineyard. =)

And then yesteday evening, instead of having our usual French culture class, we went to a wine cellar called Vins & Vignes. Unlike the Beaujolais experience, we were able to taste AND learn about the art of wine tasting. I thoroughly enjoyed Beaujolais and all of the tastings, but I felt like we were just given the wines most of the time instead of learning about its background and how it was made. The man who spoke to us about wine tasting yesterday really knew his stuff. He is the epitome of a wine connoisseur from what I've seen in France so far. He told us about how wine tasting is a three step process. Eyes. Nose. Mouth. You start off with examining the color and consistency of the wine. Is it dark? Is it clear? Is it thick? Do the "legs" fall down quickly or slowly? I learned that the darker the red wine, the younger it is...the faster the "legs" fall down, the heavier it is...and there is actually a difference in color of white wines. A lot of detailed attention, but very informative. In case you're interested, I jotted down a lot of notes about the different wines we tried. I will star the ones that I liked most.

1) Bourgogne-Hautes Hautes Côtes de Beaune 2006. (white chardonnay) : Goes well with fish without cream. Goes well with broth based sauces. It had a light flavor and a really subtle licorice/spicy taste.
2) * Pouilly-Fuissé 2005 (white chardonnay from Burgundy) : The man claimed this was a typical example of Chardonnay wine. "The greatest white wine is from Burgundy." This bottle also sells for about $80 in the states. It was a little thicker than the latter white wine but I liked it a lot. It goes well with fish, scallops, prawns, and scampi (seafood, basically).
3) Saint-Joseph 2006 (red from the Valley du Rhône) : This wine is often found in menus and is hardly bad. It is made from 100% Syrah grapes and is one of the rare wines that goes straight from the ground to the bottle (meaning there is no oak barrel serving as the intermediary). It had a really natural, woody taste and the alcohol wasn't very apparent. It goes well with appetizers and red meats.
4) * Crozes-Hermitage 2005 (also a red from the Valley du Rhône) : This one was made 40 minutes south of Lyon in Valence. It is also made from 100% Syrah grapes and has been in reservoirs and barrels for 12 months before being bottled. They called this wine "organic." It is good for 10 years. It goes well with anti-pasta (not the chips/peanuts type of appetizers, but thinly sliced meats and olives. etc.) and red meats like steak. I don't know if it's because they called this organic, but I preferred this one over the Saint-Joseph. I LOVED it.
5) Tawny Porto Niepoort (a Portuguese fortified wine. Reims, France) : 20% alcohol content compared to the 12% in wine. The smell was really intense but the taste was actually sweet and really good. It is often served as a dessert wine. It goes well with cheese like Roquefort, blue cheeses, Brie, and Camembert.

I am really enjoying all of these opportunities to learn about wine and cheese. It is a useful folder of information to have for the future.

Well, I think my body is ready to go to bed now. I probably won't sleep for too long since the new day has already dawned upon me. Expect more updates this weekend since everyone is gone and I have too much time on my hands. à la prochaine...

getting chilly

Chilly winds, falling leaves, dark mornings, wool coats, daily cups of hot tea.
It's getting cold in Lyon...


Getting cold means less frequent trips outside of the apartment. It actually took a lot of effort and self-motivation to get myself out of my warm bed, explore a little bit of Vieux Lyon with my roommate and a friend, a quick trip to Virgin Megastore, and an attempt to study for upcoming midterms at a fast-food place. Finding a place to study took all day. We didn't want to stay indoors in the apartment, but we also didn't want to study at the park because it was really chilly, so we went from cafe to cafe hoping to see an appropriate place to bust out our books, but every place was either closed, getting ready to close, busy, or not appropriate for studying. So at the end of the day, we went to an indoor mall and found the only place with tables that was open: Quick Q. It's equivalent to a McDonald's meets a Dairy Queen. The environment was definitely not something like Border's or Barnes & Nobles, but it was do-able. I still didn't get much accomplished because I was with friends, but I am hoping to squeeze in a few chapters of reading before I sleep. It's already 3 am and there is an all-day trip to the Beaujolais (wine-producing region: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais) tomorrow...so we'll see how much I actually get done. One of my goals that I set before I came here was to manage my time more wisely. Most of my time has been distributed into settling in and getting comfortable with my environment (people and places), and the rest of my time was put into keeping in touch with my family and friends back at home, and getting things done for my next co-op. I do admit; it's tough trying to stay in touch with everyone you want to keep in touch with. I have to push time aside to make phone calls, write postcards, and even to write Facebook messages. There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do! But I know that if I was to be given more hours in a day, I wouldn't take advantage of it. I would merely waste it on sleeping or eating. A goal I am setting for myself starting...NOW is to be more punctual. The French time is rubbing off on me and I'm being more lenient with commitments that I need to attend to. If it wasn't for my roommate, Claire, I probably wouldn't have been to half as many 8 am classes as I went to. Thank goodness for her. All my friends back at home know me as a bear when I go to sleep. Nothing can wake me up - not even an earthquake (this has been proven true after we experienced a small tremor years ago). But turning back from my little tangent, I would like to commit myself to a more punctual and organized lifestyle. Time management is key anywhere and everywhere. In school, at work, with friends, meetings, etc. Wish me "bonne chance."

strike, what?

I am sitting in the school computer lab half an hour before class starts without a legitimate reason for being here...except for the fact that there was supposed to be a huge TCL strike today (public transportation system). I am so disappointed! I thought there were going to be loads of people, packed away like sardines, on the trains and people walking to work and school, and even taking out all of the rental bikes around the city. But.....no. I had the breeziest trip ever to school. The trains were not congested AT ALL and I was actually able to sit down on both of the trains (what? this never happens). We left an hour early assuming it would take the entire time or possibly more. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

One of the most striking things (no pun intended) I've found about the French way of life is their keyboard. It's pretty amusing. For a minute, I'll type away like I would on a normal, American keyboard and you'll be able to see the stark differences.

HHello: ?y nq,e is Qllison Rhee: I ql fro, the United Stqtes of Q,ericq qnd q, studying qbroqd for q se,ester in Lyon: I love it in Frqnce so fqr: Itùs q greqt experience qnd I q, leqrning so ,uch qbout the culture: I q, here for q totql of ' ,onths; but hqlf the ti,e is qlreqdy gone; and it ,qkes ,e reqlly sqd thinking qbout it: But qnyzqys; enough of this code lqnguqge; I zill trqnslqte this code bqck to nor,ql:

Translation: My name is Allison Rhee. I am from the United States of America and I'm studying abroad for a semester in Lyon. I love it in France so far. It's a great experience and I am learning so much about the culture. I am here for a total of 4 months, but half the time is already gone, and it makes me really sad thinking about it. But anyways, enough of this code language. I will translate this code back to normal.

Crazy differences. I thought I would never be able to type quickly on this thing, but after a French essay I had to write the other day, it's become a new skill of mine. That would be pretty impressive on a resume, no?
Skills: Expert at typing on a French keyboard
I'm kidding. C'est une blague :)

Zell; off to clqss I go1
(Well, off to class I go!)

Fast and the French

For the first time in many weeks, I am not going away for the weekend and no one is coming to visit. It's nice. I enjoy my down time a lot because I can just sit back, reflect on how everything is going so far, and create a new set of goals and motivations. It's funny how time seemed to go by at a turtle's pace in the beginning of my study abroad experience, and now it is speeding up a lot quicker than I like. My friend, James, has a countdown everywhere and it keeps reminding me of how much time we have left. I think we are down in the 70ish days. :(

I had a really exciting night yesterday. A couple of Americans and I decided to go go-karting with a couple of our French friends. They met us in Bellecour (the "point 0" of Lyon) and drove us out to the tracks. I expected a really cute and kiddish track, like the kind I was used to when I was little, but it turned out to be F1 (Formula One) cars... the kind that goes really fast and the kind you can't drive until you're a certain age in the states. There were 10 of us so we had to wait about an hour before we could go because we wanted to race together. We killed the time by watching the other people driving around and getting a feel for the track. Our race started at 12:20 so we went down and got in our full-body suits and helmets (I felt like an astronaut). The cars were pretty small and I'm assuming it was designed this way so it would be easier to maneuver. When all our motors were on and the cars were leaving the starting point, one by one, I felt the adrenaline start to rush. The cars were a lot faster than I imagined. The track was really curvy so we had to follow a certain way of braking, accelerating, and turning. It was intense, to say the least. In the beginning of the first race, I had a really hard collision with my friend, Thuy, on one of the big curves. The wind was knocked out of me and I was shaken up the entire time. But the excitement kept me going. I placed 11th out of 14. Not bad for a first-timer. We decided to do one more race and since the group was smaller, we didn't have to worry as much about bumping into people. The second time was better for me and I had such a blast. The adrenaline rush was incredible. The smell of the rubber and gasoline, the sight of seeing everyone in their outfits and helmets, the feeling of the speed pick up on a straight-away...it was great. I placed 4th out of 8 the second time. I am definitely planning on going again in the near future. It was so much fun and our friends were such great hosts.
There was a good mixture of the Americans and the French so I would try to listen in on when they started speaking French. My French is definitely improving, but not as much as I would like. The "r's" are impossible to get down. I was talking to my friend, Agnes, and I told her I had a "rhume" (cold). She didn't understand me at first because I wasn't saying it from my throat. She even admitted that it's a really hard pronunciation to get down if you are a foreigner because they are raised that way to speak it, so it is almost like an inborn skill. But I have faith in myself. By the time I leave, I hope I will be able to read fluently (not necessarily digesting the entire context...just being able to read it) and speak without my American accent.

Today is another day of Vinopedia, a huge annual wine festival in the Parc de la Tete d'Or. For 5 euros, you can sample a myriad of wines from local wine regions. I am really excited about it. Other plans for the day include watching a movie and possibly some shopping. I also plan on starting to prepare for midterms. They start this upcoming week and are spread out over a two-week span, based on what day the professors decide to give the exams. I start off with my Advanced French exam on Tuesday and an Advertising Management project on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to getting everything over with because I have a lot of great travel destinations with my friend, Yuna. We have London and Italy booked and I have Paris and Madrid scheduled, as well. I love the great student discounts...they are amazing.

Well, I must go get ready. A toute a l'heure.

[EDIT - PICTURES FROM VINOPEDIA AND THE PARK]

Adieu Mon Coeur (Goodbye My Heart)

As each day passes, I see pieces of my heart being left behind in Lyon and Europe, in general. I cannot get enough of this place. Walking around the city and simply soaking in the sights and people have become a new pastime of mine. Today serves as a good example. For French class, we had to meet our teacher, Fabienne, in front of Gare de Saint-Paul. It's out in Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon). We weren't too sure what we were doing, but we found out that we were doing a mini scavenger hunt with questions to answer. We learned a few new facts and saw some really cool places, like one building where there was a huge mural painted on the side. Apparently, Lyon is known for its random murals that can be found around the city. They are painted with the intention to "trompe de l'oeil" which means to fool the eye. The building we saw had all of the famous Lyonnais people, like Antoine Saint-Exupery (author of Le Petit Prince, or The Little Prince), the Lumiere Brothers (famous filmmakers), and Paul Bocuse (one of the finest cooks of the 20th century). It's amazing how real it looked. Right next to it, there was another building with actual windows, flowers, and people, but on the perpendicular side, there was another mural with the same exact thing, so it seemed like it was real.. but it was all just an illusion. Well, after we finished our mini tour guide, we grabbed some kabobs to eat and stopped by the C'est 2 Euros store. A version of the American dollar store. They actually had nice stuff in there. I ended up leaving with two Edith Piaf albums, a pretty wooden/gold embellished plate to hold my jewelry, and a vase that only holds one stem flowers. All in all, great purchases. I put my Edith Piaf albums into my iTunes as soon as I got home and they are still on repeat. That is how I got my title...Adieu Mon Coeur is one of her songs. It just fit perfectly to how I was feeling at the moment.

I went to Paris this past weekend and it was an absolute blast, aside from the grey weather and my returning cold. One of my close friends, Yuna, is studying at New School for a semester so I stayed with her and she showed me around the city. It was such a great reunion. It was about 6 months since we've seen each other, so we had a lot to catch up on and talk about. Exploring Paris was really enjoyable with her. One of my favorite moments was when I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time. Pictures can't do it justice...it is so beautiful, especially when it sparkles like glitter at night. I am really bummed because my battery died after the second day so I barely have pictures of sights I saw in Paris. Most of the pictures I took were in Disneyland the second day. I went with James, Izzy, and my roommate, Claire for a whole day. I felt like a little girl again, getting giddy seeing Belle and her prince at dinner, along with the other princes. My dinner there was probably the best and most expensive I've had in France so far. We started off with cocktails and bread. From there, we chose a salad, an entree, and had dessert/coffee/wine. There were a couple of options for each dish, so for salad, I was choosing between a salmon salad and a salad with something called Foie Gras. I wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded fancy and I love trying new foods, so I ordered it. When it came out, there were salad greens, mini baguettes, fig jam, and the Foie Gras. It looked like flattened out cat food and smelled like it too. I didn't want to be disgusted on immediate reaction, so I just went ahead and tasted it. I didn't know what to think. It was buttery, thick, creamy, and definitely not what I expected. Since I was paying a lot for dinner, I didn't want it to go to waste so I kept trying to eat it with the other things on the plate. But...it was awful. I couldn't eat it any more than a quarter way in. Well, fast forward to today afternoon in my kitchen while sitting with some friends... Izzy informs me that Foie Gras is actually duck liver. ugh.. I don't think I'll be having Foie Gras anymore.


There is this tiny store near the Place des Terreaux and it sells only American products like Oreos, peanut butter, popcorn, root beer, and regular creamy salad dressing. We went in, really excited to see all these things, but very disappointed with how expensive everything was. The items were selling for at least twice as much as they were back in the states. Add on the conversion and it would probably be three times as much. I was hoping to get a jar of peanut butter, but it was 5 euros for a tiny jar, so I put it back. Well, it was a sight for sore eyes. Seeing everything made it almost as good as being back at home. Just a comforting and familiar feeling. I'll probably go back when I feel a little nostalgic or homesick.

I still haven't been getting too homesick. Jumping around from Atlanta and Boston has made it easier for me to adjust to new environments, cultures, and people. Being at home is a rare and special occasion for me, especially this past year when I was on co-op and taking summer courses. But anyways, I think I am enjoying France more and more as I discover things and meet people. It is such an enriching experience so far. I love that there are so many things to do and see without having to go out of my way. Everything is easily accessible because culture is everywhere. It even hides in places like the subway or the sidewalks. I think people make a lot of the culture here. I have to admit, I have a crush on all of the people here. I still can't get over how they carry themselves, their styles, and their mannerisms.

Again, pieces of my heart are slowly being left behind. I hope that everyone can one day find their way to France. It is such a worthwhile and beautiful experience.